Welcome to Ian Somerhalder Online, your top source for everything Ian. You may remember him from his parts in Lost, Rules of Attraction or the CW hit The Vampire Diaries as smoldering vampire Damon. Whatever your Ian need, we hope to provide you with the latest news, media and images surrounding the man and his career. Thank you for stopping by and we hope that your return in the future!

Actor Ian Somerhalder, 31, is best known for playing Boone in Lost. He currently stars as villainous vampire Damon in The Vampire Diaries, the latest vampire-themed drama aimed at moody teenagers, which starts on ITV2 next Tuesday.

What’s the appeal of all this vampire stuff? The box office success of Twilight paved the way for all this vampire stuff. It opened up the market. The genre has always been popular but it’s having a resurgence, which is why this show got a green light.

Your character is a bit of a rotter, isn’t he? Yes, but I don’t judge him. Everyone has righteous reasons for what they do in the world. He believes what he’s doing is justified. He believes he’s been wronged by his brother and has vowed to make him miserable for eternity. He’s just living up to his promise.

How do you get on with your own siblings? There wasn’t much rivalry. My brother was seven years older so he just kicked my ass.

Have you attracted any crazy vampire groupies? Not so far. We film out in the sticks in Georgia so we’re quite cut off. That happened more when I was doing Lost. People used to camp outside my house.

Have you ever had a supernatural experience? I’d like to think so. I’m from the Deep South. There’s a lot of supernatural energy down there. There were a lot of deaths in the Civil War. If you’re open to it, you can feel it.

You started modelling at ten. What was that like? Amazing. Instead of playing baseball in the summer I’d go to New York to model. I learned a lot. I was exposed to a lot of interesting things, talented photographers and cool intellectuals, and New York City got into my blood. It was a juxtaposition of New York and this quiet, rural area of Louisiana my family lived in. It changes your outlook on childhood. You grow up really fast. I moved to Europe when I was 16.

Did you go off the rails? I went off the rails and down the side of the mountain. I went nuts for a while but I soon grew out of it. Kids in Europe go crazy at a slower pace than kids in America. There are things that are accepted in Europe that aren’t in America. You can drink at 16 in Europe, kids have a good time, but it’s not like in the States when you have to wait until you’re 21, end up pounding a case of beer in one night and end up in hospital. Kids don’t need to do that in Europe.

Was it an easy transition into acting? Models-turned-actors are a bit of a cliché… It is a huge cliché but you have to look at the positive aspects. I learned a lot about the world and took a lot of knowledge away from it.

Did your character get written out of Lost because the incestuous romance with his sister wasn’t a hit with viewers? No, it was just a story point. It just ended at its time. Lost worked well for my career and I’m eternally grateful for everyone involved in getting that role. I’ve just gone back to film some scenes for the final season. It was nice to be involved in that and see everyone again.

What are the perks of being famous? It’s fun and flattering. We shot some pictures at the Mac store the other day and they gave me an amazing computer. When Mac gives you stuff, you know you’ve made it. They don’t have to give things away.

What’s been your most extravagant purchase? I love to indulge in nice wine. One of my friends is one of the world’s top sommeliers and, from spending time in Italy and France when I was younger and becoming immersed in wine culture, I’ve learned what I like. I know what to spend my money on. I’d love to create my own organic vineyard and wine label.

If you were a kangaroo, what would you keep in your pouch? A gun to keep the kangaroo hunters away.

The Vampire DiariesIan as Damon Salvatore
The vampire brothers Damon and Stefan Salvatore, eternal adolescents, having been leading 'normal' lives, hiding their bloodthirsty condition, for centuries, moving on before their non-aging is noticed. They are back in the Virginia town where they became vampires. Stefan is noble, denying himself blood to avoid killing, and tries to control his evil brother Damon. InformationPhotosOfficial Site

The AnomalyIan as Harkin Langham
A former soldier is taken captive and awakens in the back of a van where he learns that he only has a few moments to figure out how he got there. InformationPhotosOfficial Site

Ian is extremely passionate about animal rights, and has even set up his own foundation to help raise awareness for the protection of animals all over the world. Visit The ISFoundation to find out more!

"The IS FOUNDATION aims to empower, educate and collaborate with people and projects to positively impact the planet and its creatures."

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